Category Archives: Newton

A catenary function

Posted on 25/06/2009 by dougaj4

Following on from the previous post, here is an Excel User Defined Function (UDF) to calculate the coordinates of any specified catenary, with the option of also finding the tension force at any point. Download from: Catenary.zip The download file … Continue reading →

Posted in Arch structures, Excel, Maths, Newton, UDFs, VBA | 3 Comments

Elegant proofs 4 – The optimum shape of an arch

Posted on 16/06/2009 by dougaj4

Large span arch structures have been constructed for well over two thousand years, but the first recorded analytical treatment was given by Robert Hooke in 1675 who at the end of his treatise on helioscopes added the following statement “to … Continue reading →

Posted in Arch structures, Newton | 10 Comments

Applied Mechanics of Solids

Posted on 23/05/2009 by dougaj4

Applied Mechanics of Solids is a free text on finite element analysis by Allan F Bower, who seems to have a gift for clear explanation of the topic combined with a wry sense of humour; not a combination you see every … Continue reading →

Posted in Finite Element Analysis, Newton | Tagged | Leave a comment

Is light a wave or a particle?

Posted on 15/05/2009 by dougaj4

This clever ambigram from Douglas Hofstadfter provides the answer:

Posted in Newton | 4 Comments

Frame Analysis with Excel – 7; Shear deflections and support displacements

Posted on 11/05/2009 by dougaj4

Continuing from: Frame Analysis with Excel – 6; Beam end releases and actions Download Frame4.zip – the download file includes complete open source code. Two more refinements have been added to the frame analysis spreadsheet: The stiffness matrix has been revised to … Continue reading →

Posted in Excel, Finite Element Analysis, Frame Analysis, Newton, VBA | Tagged , , , | 31 Comments